Automatic lock for quoins.



J. E. GALLAGHER.

AUTOMATIC LOCK FOR'OUOINS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6- 1916- Patented June 5, 1917.

witheom JAMES E. GALLAGHER, 0F DENVER, COLORADO.

AUTOMATIC LOCK FOR QUOI'NS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 1917..

Applicationfiled April 6, 1916. Serial No. 89,381.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES E. GALLAGHER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Locks for Quoins; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in means for locking the quoins employed for wedging printing matter as type or plates in a chase for printing purposes. These quoins are arranged in pairs, each pair consisting of two approximately twin wedgeshaped members, the inclination forming the wedge structure being all on one side, thus giving each member the shape approximately of a right angled triangle whose inclined surface is the hypotenuse of the tri angle. These two quoins when arranged for use and with their ends even, constitute a rectangular device. As the two quoin members are moved on each other for wedging purposes, the depth or thickness of the rectangular portion of the device, increases in thickness, thus performing the wedging function. The construction itself when composed of the two members as aforesaid, is old in the art. My object is to provide locking means whereby when the 'quoins are adjusted for wedging purposes in the chase, they will retain the adjusted position. I-Ieretofore much difiiculty has been ex perienced, from the fact that the quoins when adjusted for the purpose aforesaid,

have moved in the reverse direction from that required, whereby the type or plates from which the printing is being done, he come loose, thus making it impossible to properly perform the printing operation, but the most serious results from the loosening of the quoins are due to the fact that very frequently they fly out of their places, into the forms or type or plates from which the printing is done, and as the forms move under the cylinder, the quoins are either forced into the cylinder or into the forms, thus doing great damage. Again, they sometimes fall intothe machinery of the press with. very destructive I'ESlllliSr In my improvement, one of the quoins is toothed to engage a spring actuated dog with which the other quoin is equipped, the said dog of one quoin engaging the teeth of the other quoin, whereby reverse movement of the quoins after adjustment, is impossible.

I employ, as illustrated in the drawing, a dog, or pawl which is controlled by a pin cut away in the center to leave a flat web connecting the bearing extremities of the pin, the connectingweb being located beyond the center of the pin, whereby as the latter is turned the Web performs the function of an eccentric since the web is eccen trio to the bearings of the spindle or pin. An important feature of this construction. consists'in the fact that the web is flat on opposite sides and its flat surfaces are alternately engaged by a flat portion of the dog which is spring actuated to hold a flat surface of the dogin engagement with a correr spongingly shaped surface formed on the web of the pin, thus making it practically impossible for the pin to change its position when so adjusted as to lock the quoin members in place.

Having briefly outlined my improved construction, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which is illus trated an embodiment thereof. In this drawing,-

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a printers chase showing a pair of quoins in place, thequoins being equipped with my improvement.

Fig. 2 is a, detail view of a pair of quoins shown partly in section, the locking dog being in the unlocked position.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the dog in the locking position.

Fig. l is a fragmentary sectionalview,

the section being taken on the line 4-4, Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 55, Fig. at.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the dog.

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the spindle which is adapted to cooperate withthe dog.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate one quoin member and 6 the cooperating quoin member. Each quoin member is provided with a tongue, which engages a slot 7 formed in; the

4. Now, if it is thick extremity 8 of the member, these tongues and grooves forming guides to permit the accurate movement of the quoin members upon each other for wedgings-purposes. The tongue 9 of the member 5 is toothed as shown at 10, theteeth being so arranged, that as the quoin members are adjusted to increase their aggregate thickness or wedging action, a spring actuated dog 12 mounted in an opening formed in thethick extremity of the member 6,--is forced into cooperative engagement witlr the teeth 10 of the quoin 5, thuslocking thetwo' quoins in cooperative relation, to prevent reverse movement. The dog 12 is providedwith a tooth 13 which engages the teeth of the member 5, the dog yielding due to theacti'on of a spiral spring 1 1 which acts on the dog to maintain its tooth in cooperative relation with the teeth of thequoin member 5; This dog is provided with a square opening 15 extendingtransversely therethrough, while the quoin member 6 is provided with circular perforations 17 in the opposite portions or sides 16 of the head or thickest portion of the said member. These perforations 17 form bearings for cylindrical parts 18 of'a pin or spindle 19, the die beyond one of the bearing parts 18, being provided with a square head 20 adapted to enter the socket of a suitable wrench to fa cilitate the manipulation of the spindle. Formed in; the other bearing member which is somewhat longer than the member adjacent the head 20, is a circumferential groove 21 adapted to receive a pin 22, which passes through the perforations formed in the adjacent parts-of the member 6, thus retaining the spindle in place and permitting it to be rotated, as will be readily understood. The two bearing parts 18 are connected by a web 3, which when the parts are assembled, extends through the square opening 15 of the dog. When this spindle is so adjusted that its flat surface 24 is lowermost, the dog 12 is in its lowermost posltlon and places the spiral spring 14: under tenslon. In.this case the spring acts upon the portion of thedog immediately below the opening 15, to press the flat surface 26 of the dog against a flat surface 24L ofthe web of'the eccentric spindle, whereby the said spindle is locked securely in place against'accidental change of position. This position of the dog and other parts, is illustrated in'Figs. 2 and desired-to throw the dog into interlocking relation with the teeth lO of'the member 5, a socket wrench is applied to the head 20 0f the spindlewhen the latter is in place (see Fig. 5). By meansof th1s wrench thespindle is given a I whereby the flat surface 23' of it's'web w1ll be lowermost. This is the position shown'jm Fig. 8'; I which K H A 26 of the dog is brought' into engageextremity of this spinhalf-turn event the fiat" surface reached a corresponding position, its flat surface 26 engaging the surface 23' of the spindle, thus securely locking the spindle against accidental displacement, and, consequently securely locking the' dog in interlocking relation with the. teeth 10 of the quoin 5, the tooth of the'dog proj ecting sufliciently into the slot 7 to cause this tooth to engagethe teeth 10 of the member 5 as the two quoins are moved upon each other for wedging purposes,'the'teeth 10 and thedog being arranged in cooperative relation, to prevent reverse movement after such adjustment. 1

The'thick part of the quoin member 6-has an enlarged opening 27 beyond the cylindrical opening 17 on one side and surrounding. the square head 20 of the spindle, thus making room for the introduction of the operating end of a socket wrench, the socket ofthe -wrench being adapted to receive the square head 20' of thespindle. It will be understood that as the spindle isturned to move the web in the opening 15 of the dog, in an upward direction or in a direction toward the tootlr18, the spring will causethe dog to follow" the web, thus raising the dog and its tooth 13 to the position shown in Fig. 3, after which by giving the spindle another half-turng-the' dog will be caused to occupy the reverse position, the web of the spindleacting on the face- 26 of the dog'to force the latter downwardly or in the direction of the spring 14: and against the tension of the latter.

The thickest portion or head of the quoin 6, is provided with a small pin 28 which passes through the part of the quoin6-b'elow or adjacent the spiral spring 14:, whereby the spring is prevented from escaping at th'ebo-ttom orside of the quoin as the spring is placed under compression. The dog is slotted as shown at 29 onopposite sides, to receive the pin' 28, thus making it practicable' for the dog'to move back and forth within its opening in the head of the quoin 6.

Iii explaining the use of my improvement, I will make reference to Fig. 1 in which the numeral 30 designates the chase and 31 the so-called furniture therein. The two quoin members equipped with my improvement are shown in place in this view and serve to wedge the parts arranged on opposite sides of the space 32 in which the quoins are'located. As shown in this view, the quoin 5 is provided with a graduated scale 33 adapted to cooperate with a pointer 34 with which the member 6 is equipped, wherelily after the quoin members have been properly adjusted, if it becomes necessary to disconnect them, they may be afterward restored to exactly the same position, providing the operator notes the position of the pointer 3% with reference to the marks or graduations 33 on the member 5.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is, r

1. The combination of two quoin members, one of which is provided with ratchet teeth and the other with a dog movably mounted in an opening formed in the said member, the dog having an opening arranged transversely thereof, a spindle journaled in the quoin member on opposite sides of the dog, and having an eccentrically arranged web passing through the opening formed in the dog, and a spring acting on the dog and cooperatin with the web.

2. The combination of two cooperating quoin members, one of which is provided with ratchet teeth and the other with a dog mounted to move toward and away from the first named member, the dog having an opening and a flat face adjacent said opening, a spindle journaled in the quoin member on opposite sides of the dog and having a web eccentrically arranged and extending through the opening in the dog, the web having a fiat face which engages the flat face of the dog when the dog is in the locking position, and a spring acting on the dog to maintain it in the last named position.

3. The combination of two cooperating quoin members, one of which is provided with teeth and the other with a dog movable toward and away from the first named member into looking or unlocking relation as may be required, the dog having a trans verse opening and a flat face adjacent said opening, a spindle journaled in the quoin member on opposite sides of the dog and having a web eccentrically arranged and passing through the opening in the dog and provided with opposing flat faces, means for actuating the spindle to operate the dog, whereby the flat face of the dog is brought into engagement with either of the flat faces of the web according as the dog is in the locked or unlocked position, and a spring acting on the dog and cooperating with the spindle, substantially as described.

4. The combination of two quoin members, one of which is provided with a dog and the other constructed-to cooperate with the dog, I

opening in the dog, the dog having a flat face adjacent the opening and the web hav ing a flat face to engage the said face of the dog when the latter is in the locked position, and a spring engaging the dog and cooperating with the spindle to hold the flat faces of the web and dog in contact.

5. The combination of two quoin members, One of which is provided with a dog mounted to move toward and away from its companion member, the latter being constructed to cooperate with the dog for. locking purposes, and a spindle journaled in the dog-carrying quoin member and having an eccentrically arranged part passing through an opening formed in the dog the spindle being movable rotatably for dog-adjusting purposes, and a spring cooperating with the dog and spindle, substantially as described.

6. The combination of two quoin members, one of which is provided with a dog and the other constructed to cooperate with the dog which is movably mounted for locking purposes, a spindle journaled in the dog-carrying quoin member and having an eccentrically arranged web passing through an opening formed in the dog, the adjacent parts of the dog and web being constructed to secure the dog against accidental movement when in the locked position, and a spring cooperating with the dog and spindle to produce the aforesaid result.

7. The combination of two quoin memhere, one of which is provided with a dog and the other constructed to cooperate with the dog which is movably mounted for looking purposes, a spindle j ournaled in the dog carrying quoin member and having an eccentrically arranged web passing through an opening formed in the dog, the adjacent parts of the dog and web being constructed to secure the dog against accidental movement when in either the locked or unlocked position, and a spring cooperating with the dog and spindle to produce said result.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES E. GALLAGHER.

"Witnesses:

GRACE HUsroN, A. EBERT OBRIEN.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

